The Customer is Sometimes Right: Keeping Them Happy Without Sacrificing Your Principles

The ability to promote customer loyalty is critical to the long-term success of the business. Nonetheless, despite your efforts to keep all customers satisfied, some of them won’t be; which means that you will have to try to keep them happy. A mistake that many organizations make, however, in making customers happy, is that their enthusiastic desire to please can drive your organisation to the brink.

Here are a few tips to help you keep customers satisfied without sacrificing your principles:

Be tactful

Whether right or wrong, as a business owner you have to understand that the customer is the most valuable asset to your business. Recognizing this fact as a business will help you learn how to deal with irate customers more respectfully.

An annoyed customer is rarely a polite customer. However, take a deep breath, and do your best to lend an active ear to their complaints. This will help you understand their situation better, ask the right questions, and eventually determine the ideal approach to ensure your customers’ satisfaction.

Reanalyze your customer retention strategies

Just like a business strategy, customer relations can make or break your business. Catering to irate customers’ irrational demands can cause your staff to feel undervalued. While it is essential to prioritize your customers’ needs and expectations, it is not wise to do it at the expense of your employees and your business strategy. So if you fail to fulfill a customer’s unreasonable expectations, know how and when it is time to just say no.

Limit your legal liability

In some cases, a dissatisfied customer may decide to sue the business for the inconveniences arising from the failure of the business to meet their expectations. This claim may or may not be reasonable, but a lawsuit can have a significant financial impact on your business regardless. Therefore you should take all steps possible to limit your legal liability. And for the inevitable day when someone charges past your safeguards, make sure you have a competent legal team at the ready to ensure that your business is protected.

Be honest & know when to say no

It can be very tempting to say yes to every business opportunity that presents itself — especially when you’re just starting out. However, you need to tread carefully in a situation where the customer tries to push you around or expects more than you can offer. Be honest, make it clear to your customer exactly what you can deliver. Where necessary, politely tell your customer no. It may hurt in the short term, but long term it can make the difference between success and failure.

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